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HE’D really enjoyed Surfer’s Paradise He wasn’t going to examine whether it was because he’d liked the people he and his lady became there, no matter how insulated a bubble it took to accout-level uneasiness about Brisbane

Though Brisbane wasn’t Melbourne or Perth, it was sizable to hi spent so many years in the Outback, with only occasional forays into places like Elle’s

Danny’s place just outside the city was a large hohteen hundreds with traditional architecture The house was raised on stilts to proetation was cozied up to it like a beautiful nature sprite’s lush green hair, dotted with splashes of color fro bushes and clusters of artlessly scattered flowers

Despite its size, the house captured the saiven a guest rooarden While he was used to the sweep of wildflowers after rains in the desert, the vibrant color of everything was absorbing and overwhelold of the carpets that didn’t have a constant layer of dust to sweep off, to the ruby red of flowers the size of his hand on the bushes below hisand the bright green of the lush ferns Even at Surfer’s, there’d been enough of a monochrome theme between sand and ocean to help him ease into a different environment

Bees of clothes, slacks, shirts and collars, appropriate to diverse occasions and his size, waiting in the wardrobe for him The room even had a private bath

It underscored again that he was traveling with a woave hi up the tab for everything He’d had to argue to pay for his own hed at hi him he was her employee Which, of course, he was

In the desert, you saved my life You think I don’t know you’re the type of man who’d work ten jobs to care for his family?

I don’t need that I need other things from you

And do I provide them, my lady?

She’d given hilance, that distant smile “In spades”

Still, he felt dah he wasn’t quite sure why And he paid for the bloody beer

Lady D, as she was known to the staff, had her own private wing, and it was clear no one ventured there unless invited She underscored that herself when, arriving just before dawn, she left hi kiss and smile, and told him the maid would show him to his room Then she disappeared

As he prowled the room, he found himself tempted to reach out, try to speak to her The bed looked solitary, lonely He’d stay on the floor in his swag

Bugger it If she liked her alone time, he couldn’t cast stones, could he? When she wanted him, she’d let him know That suited hiet so used to her company he couldn’t do without it

Dev, find the pen and pad in the desk There are people I need you to contact today, arrange for their stores to be open after dark Use ree

Startled by her intrusion into his thoughts, he assumed, with some relief, that she hadn’t heard them He jotted down the names and stores she noted; then, before he could speak further, she added, If you have any difficulties, see the staff and they’ll help

Also, please check over the house accounts and review er, Mr Forbes As my third-marked servant, you would oversee the maintenance and operation of all my properties He sensed a smile in her voice then

That should keep you busy, but be sure to get soo with me

Keep hihts However, it hadn’t escaped his notice that part of this trip was about exposing his a third-marked servant was supposed to know and do, to see if he could handle it

Right Because, whereas being the bait for soaht send hi

The echo of her laughter in his head had his gut easing, if not his loneliness

For the next two nights, he revised his opinion of shopping as a leisure pursuit A huoal, he knew, but a vampire female was dedicated to the hunt, and tireless At the end of the evening, when they got in, he was exhausted by all the choices, decisions and—he shuddered—color swatches, such that he practically staggered, falling facedown on his swag Al him out of her room and sometimes even her mind, far more than she’d done before

Hell, heto talk about She was doing it for some mysterious purpose of her own, and he had too much pride to act shirty about it But not too much pride to stay around and endure it